Fossil Fuels

November 13, 2012
A “greener” dual-fuel marine engine  has been developed by Hyundai Heavy Industries. In an effort to meet proposed stricter environmental regulations, the world's biggest shipbuilder the new engine allows marine engines to selectively use both LNG and diesel for fuel depending on the requirement.
CNOOC, Nexen and Canada's oil sands
November 12, 2012
The economic turmoil of the financial crash saw China being feted as a white knight with drawbridges being lowered to investment from Chinese companies. This has turned to bitterness, like a liberating army becoming an occupying force. Even with struggling solar and wind sectors, China has become the dominant global power it terms of renewable energy companies. This has resulted in the US Department of Commerce increasing tariffs to between 23.75 and 250 percent on solar cells which it calls a way of offsetting subsidies provided by China through one mechanism or another.
November 07, 2012
China will allocate targeted funds from its central budget to subsidize shale gas exploration as part of its efforts optimize the country's energy structure, Xinhua reported on Monday.
November 01, 2012
China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has released a new policy document detailing plans to encourage the transport sector to use liquefied natural gas (LNG) as cleaner-burning alternative to conventional oil-based fuels.
October 29, 2012
A subsidiary of Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) is in talks to buy a stake in a leading-edge carbon-capture and storage (CCS) project in the United Kingdom that may cost 5 billion pounds (USD8 billion) to develop.
Cabon tax
October 29, 2012
Recent studies have highlighted that sizable amounts of carbon emissions are transferred between world regions in the form of traded goods and services. That is, considerably more emissions are generated for the production of imports to countries, such as the EU and US than those associated with their exports. This observation has frequently been regarded as an indication that energy-intensive industries are being relocated from industrialized to developing and newly industrializing countries, especially to China.
October 26, 2012
Eighty-three companies have made 152 bids for licenses to explore shale gas in China's second round of tenders to drill for the resource, the country's land watchdog said on Thursday, according to the China Daily. But even more companies have dropped the bid, expressing concern about the high risk of extraction of the hard-to-reach gas. The profitability of the projects is uncertain, and the lack of technical expertise poses another challenge, they said.
Comparison of South Korea's GDP and greenhouse gas emissions growth
October 19, 2012
South Korea’s Ministry of Environment has outlined its plan for the control of Green House Gas (GHG) emissions from its major industries and may link an energy taxation system to emissions as part of efforts to reduce emissions. As announced Monday, estimated emissions from 480 companies that are being reined in during 2013 are 590 million tonnes of CO2 and the target is to cut that back to 572 million tonnes for a reduction of 3.02 percent.
October 18, 2012
India’s state of Assam says it is on the path to becoming one of the country’s greenest and cleanest states by using cold mix technology in which natural rubber latex is blended with bitumen emulsion for construction of green roads and other paved areas.
South Korea pinpoint map
October 15, 2012
South Korea’s economy ministry said today that it wants companies to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 3 percent to 553.4 million tonnes next year, effectively doubling the reductions achieved in 2012, as it prepares for its new cap-and-trade scheme starting in 2015. The local industrial and power sectors are on track to record emission of 570.6 million tonnes this year which is a reduction of 8 million tonnes or 1.42 percent over 2011. The ministry said it wants to see further cuts of 17.2 million in 2013.
October 14, 2012
Malaysia’s prime minister, Najib Razak, says that a green economy could drive national growth and said he aims to secure 5.5 percent of its total energy capacity from renewable sources by 2015 and 11 percent by 2020.
October 11, 2012
Japan and India are to research pricing structures of the liquid natural gas market following allegations that Asia pays more that it ought in global markets.
Coal-powered electric vehicles
October 10, 2012
New research from the The Norwegian University of Science and Technology study suggests that electric cars may be worse for the environment than petrol or diesel-powered cars. This could mean China’s ambitious plans to promote plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) could make things worse rather than better. What’s the problem? PEVs rely on mains electricity to run, and most of the world’s electricity still comes from unsustainable sources. The study found the impact – especially on greenhouse gas emissions - even worse when coal is the main source of power generation, and China relies on coal for over 80 percent of its electricity.
October 09, 2012
China should give priority to the exploitation of coalbed gas rather than shale gas, an energy expert has suggested.
October 03, 2012
Japan introduced an environment tax on Monday which the government says is aimed at deterring greenhouse gas emissions but critics say will lead to higher prices for consumers.
September 27, 2012
China's Sinopec Group, the parent of Sinopec Corp, has closed three plants after being accused by officials of the southern Chinese province of Guangdong of openly disregarding demands to stop its pollution practices.
August 27, 2012
Royal Dutch Shell plans to spend at least USD1 billion a year exploiting China's potentially vast resources of shale gas as part of an aggressive strategy to expand in the world's biggest energy market, the firm's top China executive said last week.
August 21, 2012
Malaysia’s state investment vehicle, 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), is said to be planning to float its power assets in a bid to raise up to USD2 billion.
Sinopec clean coal
August 16, 2012
The developer of what is touted as a first-of-its-kind commercial clean coal power and carbon capture & storage (CCS) plant, partly funded by the US Department of Energy, is in talks with Chinese oil major Sinopec for a USD1 billion investment. News of the proposed deal was leaked to the Wall Street Journal, which reported that Sinopec, along with unnamed Chinese banks, is in talks to acquire an equity stake and provide financing for the USD3 billion Texas Clean Energy Project (TECP).
August 08, 2012
The drought-prone Vidarbha region of Maharashtra is heading towards another form of water crisis due to a proposed cluster of coal power plants in the region, according to a report from environmental NGO Greenpeace.